Most stomach aches are not anything serious and will go away after a few days.
Common causes of stomach ache
Use these links to get an idea of how to ease the most common causes of stomach ache. See a GP if you're worried.
| Type of stomach ache | Possible condition |
|---|---|
| Feeling bloated, farting a lot | trapped wind |
| Feeling full and bloated after eating, heartburn, feeling sick | indigestion |
| Cannot poo | constipation |
| Watery poo, feeling sick, vomiting | diarrhoea or food poisoning |
How a pharmacist can help with stomach ache
A pharmacist can:
- help you find out what's causing your stomach ache
- suggest a treatment
- recommend medicines for constipation and indigestion
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- the pain gets much worse quickly
- the pain or bloating will not go away or keeps coming back
- you're losing weight without trying to
- you suddenly pee more often or less often
- peeing is suddenly painful
- you bleed from your bottom or vagina, or have abnormal discharge from your vagina
- your diarrhoea does not go away after a few days
Immediate action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:
- your stomach ache came on very suddenly or is severe
- it hurts when you touch your stomach
- you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like ground coffee
- your poo is bloody or black and sticky and extremely smelly
- you cannot pee
- you cannot poo or fart
- you cannot breathe
- you have chest pain
- you're diabetic and vomiting
- someone has collapsed
Other causes of stomach ache
Do not self-diagnose – see a GP if you're worried.
| Type of stomach ache | Possible condition |
|---|---|
| Pain and cramps when you have your period | period pain |
| Sudden pain in the lower right-hand side | appendicitis |
| Ongoing cramps, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation | irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) |
| Bad ongoing pain that can go down to your groin, nausea, pain when peeing | kidney stones |
| Severe pain that lasts for hours in the centre of your tummy or just under the ribs on the right-hand side | gallstones |
Page last reviewed: 4 July 2017
Next review due: 4 July 2020